Deuteronomy II Moses Last Deuteronomy 31:1-30; Deuteronomy 32:1-52; Deuteronomy 33:1-29; Deuteronomy 34:1-12 I. INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS A. Theme of the Chapter i. Instruction ii. Admonition iii. Obedience iv. Prophecy B. Usage of i. thou 1. Used twenty-three (23 x) times in seventeen (17) verses ( Deuteronomy 31:2; Deuteronomy 31:3; Deuteronomy 31:7; Deuteronomy 31:11; Deuteronomy 31:14; Deuteronomy 31:16; Deuteronomy 31:23; Deuteronomy 32:14; Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 32:18; Deuteronomy 32:50; Deuteronomy 32:52; Deuteronomy 33:7; Deuteronomy 33:8; Deuteronomy 33:23; Deuteronomy 33:29; Deuteronomy 34:4) 2. Used to refer to Children of Israel and individuals in the chapter. ii. thy 1. Used thirty-four (34 x) times in twenty (20) verses (Deuteronomy 31:3; Deuteronomy 31:6; Deuteronomy 31:11; Deuteronomy 31:12; Deuteronomy 31:14; Deuteronomy 31:16; Deuteronomy 31:27; Deuteronomy 32:6; Deuteronomy 32:50; Deuteronomy 33:3; Deuteronomy 33:8; Deuteronomy 33:9; Deuteronomy 33:10; Deuteronomy 33:18; Deuteronomy 33:25; Deuteronomy 33:26; Deuteronomy 33:27; Deuteronomy 33:29; Deuteronomy 34:4) 2. Used in the possessive sense, referring to the Children of Israel. iii. command; commanded; commandments 1. Used eight (8 x) times in seven (7) verses in its various forms (Deuteronomy 31:5; Deuteronomy 31:10; Deuteronomy 31:25; Deuteronomy 31:29; Deuteronomy 32:46; Deuteronomy 33:4; Deuteronomy 34:9) 2. Used to instruct the Children of Israel. 155 P a g e
C. Usage of Phrases i. This day 1. Used four (4 x) times in four (4) verses (Deuteronomy 31:2; Deuteronomy 31:27; Deuteronomy 32:46; Deuteronomy 34:6) 2. Used in reference of instructing the Children of Israel. ii. Thou shalt not 1. Used three (3 x) times in three (3) verses. (Deuteronomy 31:2; Deuteronomy 32:52; Deuteronomy 34:4) 2. Used to tell Moses that he would not cross over into the Promised Land. iii. Thou shalt 1. Used seven (7 x) time in seven (7) verses (Deuteronomy 31:3; Deuteronomy 31:7; Deuteronomy 31:11; Deuteronomy 31:16; Deuteronomy 31:23; Deuteronomy 32:52; Deuteronomy 33:29) 2. Used to instruct the Children of Israel in what not to do. iv. LORD thy God 1. Used three (3 x) times in three (3) verses (Deuteronomy 31:3; Deuteronomy 31:6; Deuteronomy 31:11) 2. Used to show the relationship of the congregation and God. II. HIS FINAL CHARGE (Deuteronomy 31) A. To the Children of Israel (Deuteronomy 31:1-6) i. That the Lord would go before them ii. That Joshua would go before them, to lead them iii. That the Lord would give them the victory 1. As he had with Sihon 2. As they had taken the Amorites land iv. To be strong and of a good courage (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:6-7, 9; Joshua 10:25; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Ephesians 6:10) 1. To fear not 2. To not be afraid of them 3. The Lord would fight for them a. He would not fail b. He would not forsake them B. To Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:7-8; Deuteronomy 3:28) i. Charged before the people (Deuteronomy 31:7; Deuteronomy 34:9; Numbers 27:18-23) 1. Placing some of his (Moses ) honour upon him 2. Placing his (Moses ) approval upon him 3. That the people (congregation) would follow him (Joshua) (Joshua 1:16-18) 156 P a g e
4. Compare this to the laying on of the hands of the leaders in Antioch (Acts 6:6) 5. Compare this to the presbytery placing their hands upon someone for ministry (1 Timothy 4:14; 1 Timothy 5:22) ii. To be strong and of a good courage (Deuteronomy 31:8) 1. The LORD would go before him 2. He (the LORD) would never fail, nor forsake a. The LORD had went before Moses and the Children of Israel (Exodus 13:21-22) b. The LORD had been with Moses, He would be with Joshua (Exodus 33:14; Joshua 1:5) C. To the Levites (Deuteronomy 31:9-13; Deuteronomy 31:24-26) i. To administer the law (Malachi 2:7) ii. To read the law 1. Before all of the people 2. Every man, woman, child, and stranger iii. That the people might learn to fear the LORD God 1. Those that have not known anything (children) 2. To hear 3. To learn to fear the LORD their God D. The Call by the LORD (Deuteronomy 31:14-22) i. To pass the leadership from Moses to Joshua ii. To have Moses write a song (Deuteronomy 31:19; Deuteronomy 32) 1. To be taught unto the Children of Israel 2. That it might testify against the Children of Israel E. A Charge from God to Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:23) F. To All of the People (Deuteronomy 31:28-30) i. Gathering all of the elders and officers of the people 1. To speak the words of the song in their ears 2. Calling the heaven and earth as witness against them ii. To speak the words of the song that God had him prepare III. HIS FAREWELL SONG (Deuteronomy 32) A. Calling Heaven and Earth (Deuteronom 32:1-3) i. To be witness ii. To hear his words 157 P a g e
B. That God is the Rock (Deuteronomy 32:4) i. The perfectness of His work ii. A God of truth and without iniquity 1. A God of Truth (Isaiah 25:1; Jeremiah 10:10) 2. God the Son is full of grace and truth (He is truth) (John 1:14, 17; John 14:6) C. Declaring Israel s Corruption and Question It (Deuteronomy 32:5-6) i. Their corruption declared (Deuteronomy 32:5) 1. Historically (Exodus 32:7) 2. Future [after Deuteronomy 32] (Judges 2:19; Isaiah 1:1-4; John 8:41) 3. To be a perverse and crooked people a. perverse = defined: unnatural, degenerate; contrary ; turned away, contrary, askew. Figuratively: turned away from what is right, wrong, malicious, spiteful. b. perverse - Scripture: i) Balaam s way before the Lord (Numbers 22:32) ii) Saul s accusation against Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:30) iii) A forward mouth and perverse lips (Proverbs 4:24) c. crooked = defined: not straight; askew; not straightforward d. crooked Scripture: i) Crooked ways, the workers of iniquity (Psalm 125:5) ii) Crooked forward (Proverbs 2:15) iii) that crooked serpent (Isaiah 27:1) ii. Their corruption questioned (Deuteronomy 32:6) 1. Do ye thus requite the LORD? a. Requite = defined: repay, clear, pay up. b. Requite Scripture: i) Joseph and his brethren (Genesis 50:15) ii) David showing kindness to the men of Jabesh-gilead for their kindness (2 Samuel 2:6) iii) The recompense of Ahab s treachery against Naboth (2 Kings 9:26) 2. Is not He the Father, the Maker? (Deuteronomy 32:6; Exodus 4:22) a. The One that bought them (Exodus 15:16) b. The One that made them (Psalm 149:2) c. The One that established them 158 P a g e
D. The Calling of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:7-14) i. To remember their past 1. How the Lord had brought them into the land with a mighty hand (Exodus 13:14; Psalm 44:1) 2. The judgments of God (Psalm 119:52) 3. The works of God (Psalm 105:5) 4. That God spoke directly to them (Deuteronomy 4:32) ii. The LORD s portion was/is Israel (Deuteronomy 32:8-9) 1. He set the bounds of man according to Israel (Acts 17:26) 2. Jacob is the lot of His inheritance (Psalm 135:4) iii. The apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:10) (apple and eye found five times together in scripture). 1. God s special people (Israel) (Deuteronomy 32:9-12; Zechariah 2:7-10) 2. God s chosen place (Jerusalem) (Lamentations 2:15-18) 3. God s own prophets (Psalm 17:6-8) 4. God s holy precepts (word of God) (Psalm 7:1-3) iv. To remember the faithfulness of their God (Deuteronomy 32:10-14; Deuteronomy 8:15-17; Nehemiah 9:19-21) 1. Bringing Israel out of a desert place 2. Feeding Israel and caring for him 3. As a mother eagle cares for her young a. The LORD alone did lead them b. No strange god with them E. The Moving of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:15-38) i. The blessing of Jeshurun (Israel) (Deuteronomy 32:15a; Isaiah 44:1-2; Deuteronomy 31:20) 1. Thou are waxen fat 2. Thou are grown thick ii. To the forgetting of God (Deuteronomy 32:15b-18) 1. To following after false gods (Deuteronomy 32:15b-17) a. Sacrificing to devils (Psalm 106:37-38) b. That their fathers knew not (Deuteronomy 28:64) 2. That formed them (Deuteronomy 32:18; Deuteronomy 8:11, 14, 19) iii. To his own destruction (Deuteronomy 32:19-38) 1. Being abhorred by their God (Deuteronomy 32:19-22; Psalm 78:57-61) a. Because they provoked Him b. With their false gods 2. The method of destruction (Deuteronomy 32:23-38) a. The Lord would spend His arrows upon them (Deuteronomy 28:15) b. The sword and terror shall destroy both young and old (Lamentations 2:19-22) 159 P a g e
c. That they would be chased like they had chased their enemies (Deuteronomy 32:30; Leviticus 26:7-8; Joshua 23:10-13) i) Because they had forsaken their Rock ii) Putting their faith in (a) false rock(s) (Deuteronomy 32:37-38) F. The Glory of God (Deuteronomy 32:39-43) i. Belongs to the One True God (Deuteronomy 32:39-40) 1. He kills and makes alive 2. He wounds and heals 3. He lives forever ii. Bringing vengeance on His enemies (Deuteronomy 32:41-43) iii. Bringing mercy to man (Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalm 85:1) G. An Admonishment by Moses (Deuteronomy 32:44-47) i. With the help of Joshua (Deuteronomy 32:44) ii. To the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:46-47) 1. To set their hearts upon all the words 2. To remember the importance of the words given a. It is their life b. To prolong their days in the land H. The Calling of Moses by God (Deuteronomy 32:48-52) IV. HIS FINAL BLESSING (Deuteronomy 33) A. The Majesty of God (Deuteronomy 33:1-5) i. The blessing from Moses (Deuteronomy 33:1; Genesis 49:1, 28) ii. Upon the Children of Israel (Deuteronomy 33:2-5) 1. Giving His law through Moses 2. Loving His inheritance 3. Having Moses rule over them in meekness B. The Blessing of the Tribes (Deuteronomy 33:6-25) i. Note: The references from Genesis are of the blessings/prophecies of Jacob. ii. The Tribe of Reuben (Deuteronomy 33:6; Genesis 49:3-4) 1. The blessing by Moses upon Reuben a. Let Reuben live, and not die; b. let not his men be few 2. The importance of Moses blessing upon Reuben a. Judged for his sin against his father (1 Chronicles 5:1-2) b. Lost members of the tribe in their rebellion against Moses (Deuteronomy 11:6) iii. The Tribe Judah (Deuteronomy 33:7; Genesis 49:8-12) iv. The Tribe of Levi (Deuteronomy 33:8-11; Genesis 49:5-7) 1. Judged for his joint sin with Simeon (Genesis 49:5, 7) 160 P a g e
2. Levi is Restored a. In supporting Moses (Exodus 32:26-28) i) Levi was willing to stand with the man of God ii) Levi was willing to stand against his other brethren for righteousness sake iii) Compare this to what Christ said in Luke (Luke 14:26) b. In saving Israel from the plague (Numbers 25:6-13) v. The Tribe of Benjamin (Deuteronomy 33:12; Genesis 49:27) vi. The Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (Joseph) (Deuteronomy 33:13-17; Genesis 49:22-26) vii. The Tribe of Zebulun (Deuteronomy 33:18-19; Genesis 49:13) viii. The Tribe of Gad (Deuteronomy 33:20-21; Genesis 49:19) ix. The Tribe of Dan (Deuteronomy 33:22;Genesis 49:16-18) 1. is a lion s whelp; 2. he shall leap from Bashan 3. Prophetic of what would take place: (Judges 18:1-2, 27-29) a. Dan would search out more land b. Dan would rob a man c. Dan would slay a place/people that was at peace d. Dan would go on to follow after false gods x. The Tribe of Naphtali (Deuteronomy 33:23;Genesis 49:21) xi. The Tribe of Asher (Deuteronomy 33:24-25; Genesis 49:20) xii. The Tribe of Simeon is missing; it is the only tribe to be ignored here. 1. Judged for his joint sin with Levi (Genesis 49:5-7; Genesis 34:25-30) 2. Simeon becomes the smallest tribe 3. Simeon is scattered throughout Israel (Joshua 1, 9; 1 Chronicles 4:39-43; 2 Chronicles 15:9) C. The Excellency of Israel (Deuteronomy 33:26-29) i. The LORD God Almighty (Deuteronomy 33:26-28) 1. The eternal God 2. The everlasting arms a. The significance of the title i) The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 21:33) ii) He faints not, neither is He weary (Isaiah 40:28) iii) The everlasting God (Romans 16:26) iv) He would always be a place of eternal shelter for them ii. The LORD (Deuteronomy 33:29) 1. Their Saviour (Isaiah 12:2; Isaiah 45:17; 1 Timothy 4:10) 2. Their Shield (Psalm 115:9-11) 3. Their Sword (Psalm 7:12; Revelation 1:16) 161 P a g e
V. HIS LONELY DEATH (Deuteronomy 34) A. His Ascent (Deuteronomy 34:1-4) i. From the plains of Moab ii. To the top of Pisgah 1. Seeing the Promised Land a. Gilead b. To Dan c. All of Naphtali d. Ephraim e. Manasseh f. Judah g. Unto the utmost sea h. Valley of Jericho i. To Zoar 2. Promised by the Lord a. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob b. Given to Israel B. His Passing (Deuteronomy 34:5-8) i. Moses died in the land of Moab ii. Buried by God 1. In the land of Moab 2. Near Beth-peor 3. Unknown by man iii. Age: 120 years old iv. Mourned by the Children of Israel 1. 30 days 2. In the plains of Moab C. His Legacy (Deuteronomy 34:9-12) i. Leaving an example for Joshua to follow (Deuteronomy 34:9; Joshua 1:1-9) ii. No prophet like unto Moses (Deuteronomy 34:10-12) 1. Knowing the Lord face to face 2. In all the signs and wonders that were done 3. Being sent by the Lord 162 P a g e